L is for love
by sail-on-forever
Summary: A collection of one-shots and drabbles focusing on the relationship between Enjolras and Eponine, set in both modern times and the original timeline. *Chapter 2 out*
1. Chapter 1: Love Me Tender

**Love Me Tender**

**Hey there, thank you for checking out this fic! This is a one-shot about our favorite couple and I hope you will enjoy it. For those of you who read "The Lady is a Tramp", I am so sorry for the lack of updates. I promise to post a new chapter sometime this month. Please tell me how you feel about this short story; read on and review!**

"Fuck you, Enj." Éponine growled, pushing Enjolras away, as she took another sip of vodka. The cold liquid stung her throat, but she liked, no, she loved the feeling. Vodka was tasteless, numbing and it was ultimately better than thinking about Marius.

Marius.

The boy had the balls to ask her to be Cosette's bridesmaid.

And she had agreed, with a fucking grin plastered on her face. She was a coward.

"You're drunk." Enjolras spoke coldly, grabbing her arm, as they moved past the crowd to exit the dinghy pub.

"I know." She replied finally, stumbling down the street behind Enjolras.

Of course she was drunk. She wanted to be drunk.

Enjolras turned around, shooting her a disgusted look.

"I don't want to handle another Grantaire." he spat, starting his car's engine.

Éponine's breath hitched in her throat.

"_Grantaire loves you, you idiot!" _She wanted to scream. _"He had loved you since third grade, when you saved him from the bully at the playground. He told me, Enjolras, he told me when he was drunk one night. And he was crying, he was crying for you. You, of all people have no fucking right to judge him. You have no right at all."_

But she swallowed her words down.

"You don't have to. You should've just left me there." She said instead, turning to face the window. Bright lights flashed past her eyes, and she was getting dizzy.

"You think I want this." Éponine muttered accusingly, turning to face Enjolras.

"You're drunk." Enjolras sighed, shaking his head.

An uncomfortable silence settled between the pair. Peggy Lee sang soulfully in the background.

"I don't want to go home." Éponine turned to wipe away her smudged mascara. She would never let him see her tears.

"It's 3am." Enjolras paused.

"Then where do you want to go?" Enjolras said at last, speaking to her as though she was a toddler.

"The beach. I want to see the sunrise." Éponine placed her hand on the window; it was cold outside.

A ghost of her handprint was left on the window pane. She giggled humorlessly as she drew a broken heart with her fingertip. Éponine watched it fade at its edges and eventually disappear.

If only broken hearts could be fixed so easily.

Enjolras stepped on the pedal.

* * *

"We're here." Enjolras gently shook Éponine awake.

She had fallen asleep on his shoulder, and he thought it felt right. He liked it when Éponine trusted him; she didn't trust easily.

Éponine lifted her head, rubbing her tired eyes. For a moment she looked calm and happy, but the gloom soon returned to her brown eyes.

That particular spot on his shoulder felt cold suddenly.

"Let's sit at the beach." She said, stumbling out of the car. The beach was unnervingly silent, save for the constant breaking of waves against the shore.

"Waves are stupid." She announced to no one in particular.

Enjolras settled beside her on the sand.

"They just keep breaking against the shore. Don't they know that they will just become foam?" she whispered, as another wave rolled in, only to crash against the shore.

"Maybe they can't help it." Enjolras replied, looking at Éponine.

His bright, blue eyes shone in the darkness and his steady breathing was the only thing Éponine could hear. She reckoned if she tried hard enough, she would be able to hear his heartbeat.

"I wish…I wish they could." Her voice broke.

"I never wanted any of this." she continued, lighting up a cigarette.

She exhaled with pouty lips, watching the smoke cloud his features. Éponine coughed, she felt the first warm tear roll down her cold cheek.

"I don't even know why I'm smoking, I hate smoking. Why do I have a cigarette? What's wrong with me?" she choked, hyperventilating a little.

"What's wrong with me?" she buried her head into her hands. She could feel herself unraveling, like a ball of yarn tumbling down on the floor. She was vulnerable.

Enjolras wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her nearer to him.

"There's nothing wrong with you. Marius' the idiot." He answered truthfully, squeezing her shoulder.

At his words, she cried even harder, her shoulders shaking violently.

Fuck.

He was never good at this whole emotional thing.

He was good at logic and reasoning, but he was lost when it came to feelings.

But

He wished he was good for her.

He wished he could comfort her.

Enjolras removed his hand from her shoulder carefully.

Her head shot up and she wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing into his chest.

"Sorry, sorry for your shirt." Éponine gasped, trying to catch her breath.

"It's alright, it's alright." He whispered comforting words into her ear, rubbing small circles on her nape.

"I loved him first, you know?" Éponine mumbled into his chest.

"But he looks so good with her, I know I'm selfish, I'm fucking selfish." Éponine held his shirt tightly in her fist. "But I can't help it, it hurts, it hurts so bad."

Enjolras bit on his cheek to prevent emotional words from escaping.

_It hurts to see you crying over a man who doesn't deserve you._

_It hurts to hold you knowing that you're not mine._

"He was never mine to lose." Éponine collapsed into Enjolras, feeling his fingers stroke her hair tenderly.

And so the heartbroken girl lay on the marble statue's chest until her breathing became steady and her poor mind was lost in a better place.

Enjolras looked down at the sleeping girl, brushing her messy hair.

"I loved you first." He whispered quietly, the breeze snatching the words away before she could hear them.

The sun rose.

It was a new day.

**Wow, this went in a totally different direction from my original plan. I might continue this one-shot and expand it to another chapter, but please tell me how you feel about it. I appreciate all feedback! Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2: Losing You

**Losing You**

**Hey there, I am so sorry for the late update. Thank you for all your reviews and favorites and follows! Many of you have asked for the first chapter to be continued, I have decided to expand it into a fic, however, I have also decided that "L is for Love" is strictly for one-shots and drabbles. I promise to create a new story when I am less busy. Meanwhile, I really do hope you will enjoy this second one-shot. Do tell me how you feel by reviewing! Read on and enjoy.**

The sun shone directly into Enjolras' eyes and he had to squint to make out his surroundings. A pearl of sweat rolled down his brow, down his neck, before disappearing behind his dark oxford shirt. He felt cold, so cold.

"_How are you feeling right now, Mr. Enjolras?"_

"_Tired, but otherwise…fine."_

He clutched a brown envelope in one hand and his iPhone in another; his knuckles were almost bone white from the tight grip. An office lady bumped into him accidentally and he looked up blankly, as she muttered a quick, insincere apology.

"_Would you like some water?"_

"_No, it's fine, thank you. What's wrong with me?"_

"_I've just looked through the report, Mr. Enjolras. I…I'm afraid that it is rather bad news."_

The dolorous church bell rang twelve times and the birds on the street fluttered away in shock. Enjolras suddenly realized that he had been standing in the same spot for almost ten minutes. He turned to leave for Saint-Michel Métro station.

"_Tell me."_

"_Mr. Enjolras, I'm sorry, but you have been diagnosed with stage IIIA lung cancer."_

The lunch crowd rushed by him, and though he was surrounded by so many people, he felt so alone. He had never felt such despair in his entire life. He sat down in a corner, watching the world go by.

* * *

Enjolras sat on the couch watching the sun sink slowly. The bright orange ball of fire disappeared behind the apartment buildings and the sky turned a bloody red. Enjolras barely noticed as the redness of the sky turned grey and the street lights turned on.

"Oh my god, I swear Marius needs to shut the fuck up sometimes." An effervescent voice reached his ears as the front door slammed shut.

"Anyway, I bought some groceries; it's your turn next week. Have you eaten? I'm going to order pizza, I'm fucking starving." Éponine continued as she dumped her bag on the floor, collapsing on the sofa.

She closed her eyes, enjoying a few seconds of rest.

"Enj? Pizza?" She asked again.

She peeked from the corner of her eyes.

"Hey, what happened?" she asked, sidling to sit beside him immediately.

The man turned to look at her slowly, his eyes glazed over. His lips trembled slightly and he let out a ragged breath. There was a mixture of pain and relief in his eyes; it was as though he had just noticed she was there.

"Enj'ras?" Éponine asked worriedly, cupping his pale cheek with a hand. In all her years as his roommate and best friend, she had never seen him look so scared and lost.

"Éponine?" he finally whispered back, sounding so miserable that it broke her heart.

"Yes? What happened?" Éponine replied softly, moving her hand down to hold his shoulder.

"I…I…I don't want to die." He finally articulated the words that had been running in his mind for the whole day.

"I want to live, Ep, I really want to." He continued louder, spilling his thoughts to her. "I don't want to die."

"I don't want to die." He shouted, burning tears running down his face. "I still have so many things I haven't done, I'm not prepared, Ep, I'm not…"

"_How…how long do I have left?"_

"_Around 15% of people with lung cancer survive for the next five years."_

"_15? How about the rest, doctor? Tell me the truth."_

"_Yes, 15%. Well, most people do not survive past 20 months."_

He had envisioned the rest of his life since the age of 18.

His goal was to save France. He had decided on his 18th birthday to study his hardest to enter the best law school in France and to eventually become the best lawyer in Paris. He will fight the system from within, destroying the unjust rules and regulations and he will stand up for the people who could not speak for themselves. He had his whole life planned out.

And yet, now, this.

Recently, his plans had even included Éponine.

He had spoken to Courfeyrac just a week before.

"_Courfeyrac, where's the best place to bring a girl out on a date?"_

"_I will say the…hold on, who's this unlucky lady?"_

Gentle fingers traced his eyes, wiping away the hot, angry tears that refused to stop forming.

"Tell me, Enjolras." She hugged him, pulling him into her.

He breathed her in, resting his cheek on her collarbone.

"Cancer, Éponine, I have lung cancer." The words left his lips and it left a strange bitterness on his tongue. Oh, how much he hated that word.

_Cancer._

It had stolen his mother from him when he was a mere teenager; it had snatched his baby sister away when she was just eleven; cancer had been haunting him his whole fucking life.

And now, it was after him.

And he was afraid.

He heard her gasp and he felt her arms around him tighten protectively.

"Joly, we will call Joly's dad. He's the best doctor in the whole of France." She nodded her head quickly, rising up to grab her phone.

Tears threatened to escape her red-rimmed eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

She was never one to back down from a problem. She did not know how to handle unsolvable problems and she was not prepared to lose him. There must be a way.

Enjolras grabbed her arm, pulling her down. He placed both hands on her cheeks, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"I love you." He whispered sincerely, his voice still rough from his sobbing.

The fear had turned him brave.

She froze, her eyes widened in shock.

_Fuck._

And then her lips were on his, wild and furious, making up for all the lost time. They were a tangle of limbs, grabbing hold of each other, needing to know that they were alive. Her arms were around his neck, and she was pulling him closer, not willing to let him go.

"I love you too." She breathed in his ear, running her fingers through his curls. She stroked his tear stained cheeks, comforting him.

He sighed, peppering her neck with tiny kisses.

She moaned.

That was all he needed to know.

They could figure out the rest later.

**I did this in under an hour so I hope it isn't too shitty! Do tell me how you feel about it and leave a review. See you next time, I hope you enjoyed this short one-shot!**


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